


The Universe of Clementine's Mind

by mindflood



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drug Abuse, Drug Use, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Memory Jumping, Not Beta Read, Romance, Sad, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Suicide Attempt, and super badass, but with a sad past, my girl is super powerful, wandavision inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:48:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29839026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindflood/pseuds/mindflood
Summary: When Rick is asked a favor by an old friend how can he say no? Especially when that favor involves delving into the mind of a being that's thousands of years older than him and just might hold the answer to the question he's been asking since he created his portal gun. Clementine Graves could be the answer to all of it, but first, he has to make sure that her mind doesn't completely fall apart, taking him and Morty with it.In which Rick and Morty enter the dangerous mind of Clementine Graves, and Rick develops something for her that's a little more complex than intellectual curiosity.
Relationships: Rick Sanchez/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	The Universe of Clementine's Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction that I've ever posted on AO3, so that's fun! I'm not yet sure how long this fic is going to be, but right now I'm thinking 20,000 to 40,000 words. Rick and Morty will be going into Clementine's memories which have quite a bit of violence, including (TW) mention of past rape and abuse, so if this is something that you can't handle it would be best not to read. Everything trauma-related that I write about comes from a place of self-projection, so please don't accuse me of using trauma to further the plot (I'm only saying this because I have been accused of this before). Writing about my trauma is how I cope.

Rio was in a race against time as he flew through the atmosphere of Vibron-6. He hadn’t been here since the rebellion against the federation at least half a decade ago and he’d almost forgotten how much he loved it. The planet wasn’t fancy, in fact, it was the exact opposite.

Vibron-6 was a cesspool of disgusting things. The sun never shone, and neon signs lined every street. Seedy deals could be found on every corner. It made it the perfect place to blend in. All criminals were welcome on Vibron-6, even people like him and Rick.

Rick. That’s who he was meeting. He wouldn’t admit it to himself, but he was nervous. He hadn’t seen his friend in years, and he had a big favor to ask him. One he wasn’t sure Rick would accept. He could only hope that his friend would agree. It was a matter of life or death. Not just for him, but for everyone in the multiverse. At least that's what Clementine had told him before she passed out.

Rio pulled his ship into the dirty parking lot of the alien bar. He couldn’t read the name on the sign himself, but it’s where he and Rick would hang around in the days of the rebellion. Things had changed a lot since then, but the bar seemed to remain the same. 

He walked through the creaky double doors and let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting. He knew he was early; he didn’t have a lot of time to waste. The place was crowded with the exact type of people you would expect. Rio surveyed them closely as he walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. He knew it was probable that every person in the bar had a warrant out for their arrest. He knew he did. 

After the federation reformed, they made a point of tracking down all the people involved in the rebellion. Hell, they were still looking for Clementine after two thousand years. They had fallen apart and reformed at least a hundred times and they still wouldn’t give up the search for her. They knew how dangerous she was to their fascist organization.

Clementine didn’t care for the federation; she had made that clear from the very moment they met. Rio reckoned that the only reason she had helped him in the first place is because he told her he was a part of the rebellion. The other people who had stumbled across her hadn’t been so lucky.

“Well look who it is,” Rio spun around on the barstool, a small grin stretching across his face.

“Rick! How’ve you been you old bastard?” He moved in for a handshake. Rick was just as he remembered him. Blue hair, sallow skin, and a manic look in his eye that was always just on the edge of crazed.

“Shitty as ever pal,” he took a flask out of the pocket of his white lab coat and took a swallow, “now you wanna tell me what was so urgent you had to interrupt interdimensional cable?” Yep, exactly as Rio remembered him. The reminder of why he was there made a more serious mood settle on his mind.

“I want to cash in on that favor you owe me,” he told him honestly. Rick didn’t say anything but raised a brow questionably. “My friend, Clementine, she needs help.”

“You want to cash your favor in on some chick? What- what kind of help are we talking about here?” Rick’s eyes narrowed a fraction. He was planning on staying home for the week. After the last adventure that he and Morty had they both agreed to cool it for a while. There’d be no more adventuring if they were both dead.

“The thing is, I’m not exactly sure,” Rio started. “Clem was fighting with this wizard dude about a week ago and then she completely shut down. I thought she was just in a deep sleep or something, but when I read her brain waves, they were off the charts. Not only is she completely conscious but she’s expending massive amounts of energy while her lifeforce is slowly fading. I’m not sure what to do.”

Rick wanted to scoff but figured it wasn’t the best time. Rio was right when he said that Rick owed him a favor. A big one at that. It’s not every day that someone tries to lay their life down for yours. Rick was more used to his friends betraying him and trying to kill him.

“So you just want me to find a way t-to snap her out of it?” he laughed a little and Rio rolled his eyes. Rick took another swig out of his flask. “You uh- you sure this is what you want to spend your favor on?” Rio nodded.

If he was being honest with Rio Rick would tell him that it was the worst way to spend a favor, but he figured he’d keep his mouth shut. As soon as he got this easy task out of the way he wouldn’t owe anyone anything. He figured that it would be a day-long adventure at the most and Morty wouldn’t want to kill him once they were done. 

“Alright, just- just give me one sec,” Rick stood up and shot his portal gun into the wall, walking through before Rio could ask any questions. He came back through the swirling green portal with a teenage boy being dragged by the arm behind him while struggling to pull his pants up.

“W- What the hell Rick! You couldn’t give me a warning first?!” The boy pulled his pants from around his ankles awkwardly as everyone in the bar turned their heads towards them.

“Oh stop whining Morty,” Rick scolded him, walking back over to where Rio had stood from the barstool. 

“Who’s this?” Rio asked. He had never seen the boy before, but by the looks of it, he and Rick were close. A thought flittered through Rio’s head but he squashed it within a second. He shivered in disgust.

“This is my grandson Morty. You got a ship?” Rio nodded and led them out the door of the bar. 

“R-Rick. What’s going on. Where- where are we going? And who is that?” Morty asked, still being dragged by the arm as his short legs struggled to keep up with the two tall men. 

“We- we’re gonna help him, Morty. We’re gonna do the lame hero stuff you like to do. Just- just get in the ship, Morty.” He pushed his grandson through the open chrome doors of the spaceship. Rick raised his eyebrow as he looked around, impressed with the build.

“How’d you get a ship like this? This is- this is some high tech stuff,” Rick said in suspicion. He had never known Rio to be someone who cared about money, so he definitely didn’t buy it. Though it was possible he stole it, that was doubtful.

“Clementine built it for me.” Rio started the ship up and piloted it until they were sailing into the upper atmosphere. He set the GPS for Lamazon-12 and turned his chair to Rick and Morty, the second of which was looking around like a kid in a candy store.

“S- So who’s this girl we’re helping. I don’t know many people who could make a high-powered ship out of varmodian metal and quintelic fluid other than myself.” Rick was curious, if not a little annoyed with the fine make of the ship. Morty turned towards the two, eager to know what his grandpa had planned for the day.

“Clementine’s the smartest person I’ve ever met,” Rick glared at him in obvious offense, “I mean, on the same level as you I guess.” Rio sheepishly added. “She saved my life when I crash-landed on her planet a few years ago. She doesn’t talk about herself a lot, but I know that she’s a human and lived on earth thousands of years ago.”

“Whoa, how old is she?” Morty asked in wonderment. He thought his grandpa was the only Earth human who had even left the solar system. 

“No clue. Though I’m guessing around ten thousand. As I said, she doesn’t talk about herself a lot.” Rio maneuvered the ship around a stray asteroid as he talked.

“How’s she still alive if she’s human,” Morty asked again. Rick was preoccupied, fiddling with a high-tech watch around his wrist as his grandson asked questions.

“She isn’t a normal human,” Rio grimaced, thinking about when they first met, “she has these crazy powers. It’s best not to get on her bad side.”

“S-So she has, like, magic or something?” Morty questioned in wonderment. Rick rolled his eyes, still not looking up from his watch.

“Magic is just science you’re too stupid to understand, Morty.” Morty frowned in response. 

“I don’t know, I guess,” Rio ignored Rick’s comment, “she wouldn’t tell me how she got them when I asked. Just got all silent and weird, then starting babbling crap about ‘our multiverse isn’t singular’ and that ‘we’re never safe, even if we think we are.’” Rio shrugged, no longer bothered by his friend's weird and unintelligible rantings about the universe. He had given up putting the pieces together a long time ago.

Rick finally looked up, suddenly interested in the conversation once again. Rio’s words made his mind flood with thoughts and unanswered questions. Rick had suspected for a while that there was another multiverse other than theirs, sort of like the micro verse in his car battery. If this girl knew something about that, Rick could use her to further his research.

A plan began to formulate in his head as the ship breached Lamazon-12’s atmosphere. Nothing evil, just something that would be mutually beneficial to the both of them. 

Lamazon-12 was an uninhabited planet in the Andromeda system. Rick noticed how the GPS on his watch went haywire when they entered the solar system. This Clementine really didn’t want anyone else going there. Rick looked for the signs of a trap, but so far everything seemed honest.

Rick had tuned out the sound of the other two talking as the ship descended to the ground. There was nothing special about Lamazon-12. If anything, it was quite ugly. It looked like the Sahara Desert on Earth or the Northern Fort on the planet Ghirab. Sand dunes stretched for miles with a burning red sun off in the distance. 

The sand started to move rapidly as a door in the ground opened after Rio entered a passcode into the ship’s console. The ship descended into a massive underground structure. There were several other high-quality ships parked in the dim room. The door closed overhead, forming a dome-shaped ceiling above them.

Rick admired the structure with apprehension. There were no people there, but several robots stripped down to their metal carrying out basic maintenance tasks. One of them began washing the ship’s window as soon as they parked in an open space.

“Welcome to Lamazon-12,” Rio told the two as he stood up from the pilot's chair. He opened the door of the ship and led them out and through the room at a pace that gave Morty adequate time to look around. Rick made sure that his portal gun was tucked in his pocket, just in case the two had to jump ship last minute. He trusted Rio to an extent, but this place clearly didn’t belong to Rio. He was just a guest.

“Clementine is through here,” he led them down a hall and through two double doors, entering a large lab. The sterile white color all around them was almost blinding, but within seconds Rick was able to make out a figure across the room, one that Rio was walking over to.

Her hair was a fiery red, one that Rick had admired on many women before. She was sat in a resting position on a pillow in the middle of the room, still wearing some kind of black battle armor.

She was still hooked up to a machine that was reading her brainwaves, obviously, the one that Rio had told him about. There was a nearly invisible red energy field covering her skin. Rick would have missed it if it weren’t for the harsh lights in the lab.

“What’s wrong with her?” Morty asked, clearly concerned for the girl he didn’t even know. Rick took a look at the machine and began to unplug some wires, moving them around to where he pleased. 

“That’s what we’re here to find out, Morty.”


End file.
